Collective auctions and single item consignments in Coventry

Single items and small lots for businesses in Coventry and the surrounding West Midlands area, including Nuneaton, Rugby, Leamington Spa, Warwick. We catalogue and sell on your premises, so nothing has to be moved before the sale.

Not every sale is a whole factory. You may have one machine that is surplus, a van, a dozen items from a workshop tidy up, or the last few lots left after a bigger sale. On their own they are too small to justify a sale of their own, but they still have value.

A collective auction brings lots from many vendors into one online sale, so your items reach the same buyers as a large dispersal. Use the contact form to tell us what you have, and we will say whether it belongs in a collective sale and which one.

What these sales usually include

Single machine tools
Individual vans and pickups
Compressors and generators
Welding equipment
Woodworking machines
Hand tools and power tools
Office furniture and IT equipment
Catering equipment from a single kitchen
Small plant and attachments
Garden and grounds machinery
Trailers
Workshop consumables and stock

How a collective sale works

A collective auction is a regular online timed sale made up of lots from many vendors. Each vendor's lots are identified in the catalogue by lot number only. Buyers see one large, varied sale and bid across it, which is what gives small consignments the audience they would not get alone.

Your lots are photographed and listed alongside the others. Bidding runs online over the sale period, with lots closing in sequence on the sale date. Each lot is sold as seen. The buyer pays the hammer price plus a buyer's premium and VAT where it applies.

After the sale, buyers pay and collect within the collection window. We account to you for your lots once they have been paid for, less the agreed commission.

Minimum viable value

There is a floor below which a lot is not worth selling at auction. The costs of cataloguing, photographing, marketing and administering a lot are much the same whether it sells for a little or a lot, so a single item of very low value will not cover them.

We are open about this. If an item is not worth entering, we say so, and suggest an alternative such as a trade sale or a scrap merchant. Where you have a number of low value items, we group them into a single lot so that the total is worth a buyer's journey.

The threshold varies with the sale, the type of item and whether it can be brought to us. Ask, and we will give you a straight answer for your items.

At our premises or at yours

Single items and small lots are usually best brought to our premises. That puts them in a sale with a set viewing day, secure storage and staff on hand for collection. You deliver or we arrange transport at an agreed cost, and the lot is sold from our site.

Where an item is too large or too heavy to move economically (a machine bolted to a floor, a cold room, a run of racking), we catalogue it in situ and it is sold for collection from your site. The catalogue states the location and the buyer arranges removal.

Both routes go into the same sale. The choice is about cost and practicality, and we will advise which suits each item.

What to bring and what to tell us

Deliver items clean and in working order where possible, with all parts, accessories, keys and manuals together. Label anything that might be separated from its lot. Tell us about known faults: they are described in the catalogue, and a fault that is disclosed does not cause a problem after the sale.

For vehicles, bring the V5C, the MOT certificate and all keys. For lifting equipment, bring the latest report of thorough examination. For anything on finance, tell us before it is entered. For anything with a data storage function (computers, tills, phones), wipe it first.

A reserve can be set on an individual lot where there is a clear reason. On low value lots we recommend selling without reserve, because the market usually finds the right level.

Timescales and unsold lots

Collective sales run on a regular cycle, so the wait for the next sale is normally short. Once your items are entered, cataloguing, the online sale and collection follow the same pattern as any of our sales, usually two to four weeks in total.

An item that does not reach its reserve can be offered to the underbidder, carried into the next collective sale, or returned to you. Items entered without reserve will sell. We agree the approach before the sale so there is no surprise afterwards.

Lots held at our premises that are unsold and uncollected after an agreed period may incur storage, so decide early what you want done with anything that fails to sell.

Businesses in Coventry

Coventry's industrial base is built around automotive, with vehicle assembly, component makers, tooling shops and engineering consultancies across the city and into Warwickshire. Logistics operators use the large sheds at the Ryton distribution park and Middlemarch Business Park near the airport to the south east. Other estates include Binley Industrial Estate, Bayton Road at Exhall to the north and Seven Stars Industrial Estate. Many of the smaller units are occupied by engineering and trade businesses that supply the vehicle plants.

The M6 runs across the north of the city, with junction 2 leading to the M69 for Leicester and the A46 for Warwick and the M40. Junction 3 gives access to the north of the city, and the A45 links to Birmingham Airport and the M42. Coventry railway station is on the West Coast Main Line. Most estates have straightforward access for articulated lorries and low loaders.

We regularly handle single items and small lots in Coventry and across West Midlands. Sales are run on site, with viewing and collection at your premises, and the online catalogue reaches buyers well beyond the area.

Questions people ask

Is it worth selling a single item at auction?: Often, yes. A single machine tool, van, generator or compressor has a clear trade value and sells well in a collective sale. Very low value items usually do not cover the cost of selling them, and we will tell you if that is the case. Grouping several small items into one lot changes the sum. Tell us what you have and we will say whether it is worth entering and roughly what it might make.
Will my lots be mixed with other vendors' lots?: Yes. That is what a collective sale is. Your lots appear in the same catalogue as lots from other businesses, numbered in sequence, and buyers bid across the whole sale. Your business is not named in the catalogue unless you want it to be. Each lot is invoiced and accounted for separately, so the sale of your items is not affected by what happens to anyone else's.
Do I have to deliver the items to you?: For small and medium items, normally yes, because it makes viewing and collection simpler. We can arrange transport at an agreed cost if you cannot deliver. For large or fixed items we catalogue them at your premises and buyers collect from there. Which route suits each item depends on size and weight, and we will advise when you first describe what you have.
When do I get paid?: After the sale has closed and buyers have paid for your lots. We collect payment from buyers before releasing any lot, then account to you for the hammer prices less the agreed commission and any agreed costs. The timing follows the collection window, so payment normally arrives a short period after the sale date. If a buyer fails to pay, the lot is offered to the underbidder or entered in the next sale.
Can I set a reserve on a single lot?: Yes, where there is a clear reason such as a finance settlement or a known trade value. We discuss the figure with you and will say if we think it is too high for the sale. Lots without reserve attract more bidding and usually sell at or above the level a reserve would have protected. On low value lots we recommend no reserve, because the cost of an unsold lot outweighs the protection.

All questions people ask

Related services

Guides

How a commercial asset auction works
A stage by stage account of an online timed auction for business assets. It covers the asset schedule, cataloguing, viewing days, how bidding closes, buyer's premium and VAT, collection and how you get paid.
What happens to unsold lots
Not every lot sells, but the site still has to be cleared. This guide covers why lots go unsold, private treaty after the sale, lowering or removing the reserve, a later sale, scrap and WEEE recycling, and what disposal costs.